2024 February Product Updates: Welcome Smile Pack

This month's product updates article takes a delightful turn! While we don't have the usual array of feature announcements for our existing Joomla products, we have something even more exciting to unveil – a brand-new product!

We are introducing Smile Pack, our new Joomla extension that aims to reduce extension clutter on your site and simplify your workflow with a comprehensive suite of widgets and content creation tools.

Smile Pack is an all-in-one extension that offers a rich collection of pre-built and customizable widgets, including Galleries, Maps, Videos, Accordions, Tabs, PayPal Buttons, Related Articles, Testimonials, Pricing Tables, and more. Each widget integrates seamlessly as a standard module or using shortcodes, giving you ultimate flexibility in your website design.

But Smile Pack plans to go beyond just widgets. It will empower you to streamline your content creation process with features like Smart Tags, Reusable Snippets, Headers & Footers, and Conditional Logic.

Buckle up as we delve into the exciting features of Smile Pack's Version 1.0 release. We'll also offer a glimpse into the future with the roadmap outlining upcoming functionalities. We're confident that Smile Pack will become an indispensable asset in your Joomla development arsenal.

Unveiling Smile Pack 1.0

The initial release of Smile Pack, considered a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), prioritizes essential functionalities to establish a solid foundation for the product. This strategic approach allows us to gather valuable user feedback early on. Your input is crucial in guiding the product's future iterations and propelling Smile Pack towards excellence.

Let's delve into the core features packed within Smile Pack version 1.0:

Gallery Widget: Showcase Your Visual Stories

Create stunning and engaging photo galleries in Joomla, perfect for showcasing your products, portfolio, travel experiences, or any images you want to share. Unleash creative freedom with a variety of diverse layouts to choose from, including Masonry for a visually captivating, Pinterest-style arrangement, Grid for a clean and professional presentation, Justified for a visually balanced layout where images automatically fill available space, and Slideshow for a dynamic and engaging experience.

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Gallery Creation with a Modern UI

Smile Pack's Gallery goes beyond just offering beautiful layouts. It boasts a modern, fresh, and user-friendly UI gallery editor, making managing your photo gallery a breeze.

Here's how the photo gallery editor works.

• Drag-and-Drop Functionality: Effortlessly add images to your gallery by dragging and dropping them directly from your computer. Alternatively, you can choose existing images from your Joomla media library.
• Intuitive Image Arrangement: No complex configuration is required! Use the drag-and-drop functionality to arrange your images in the gallery in the desired order.
• Seamless Regeneration: Made changes to your gallery settings, such as thumbnail width or watermark options? You can regenerate all thumbnails and images with a single click based on your updated settings, ensuring everything stays consistent.
• Enhanced Image Control: Within the gallery editor, you can set individual ALT descriptions for each image, assign relevant tags for improved organization, and even customize the text that appears when viewers click on an image to display the lightbox popup.Enhanced Performance and User Experience

Enhanced Functionality

• Watermark Images: Add a custom watermark to safeguard your images.
• Filtering Tags (Based on Joomla Tags): This feature will enable users to effortlessly filter gallery items using existing Joomla tags.
• Upload Settings: Fine-tune the upload process with customizable settings.
• Custom Upload Folders: Organize your image assets efficiently by creating custom upload folders.
• Limit Maximum Files Allowed: Limit the number of images uploaded for better gallery management.
• File Size Limit: Ensure optimal performance by specifying a maximum file size for uploaded images.

Visit Using the Gallery Widget to learn how to create a photo gallery in Joomla.

Map Widget: Guide Visitors Effortlessly

Smile Pack's Map Widget empowers you to guide visitors to your doorstep effortlessly. This intuitive module, featuring a modern and user-friendly UI, allows you to integrate interactive maps from popular providers like Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and Bing Maps, ensuring your location is readily accessible to your audience.

User-Friendly Map Editor

Smile Pack's Map Widget goes beyond simply displaying locations. Thanks to a built-in, user-friendly map editor, it empowers you to create interactive and informative maps easily.

Here's how the map editor works.

• Drag-and-Drop Placement: Forget complex coordinate entries! Drag and drop anywhere on the full-width map editor to instantly add a marker to your desired location.
• Search and Add Locations with Speed: Utilize the convenient auto-complete search bar. Start typing an address, and the editor suggests matching locations below. With a click, you can add a new marker to your map.
• Manage Markers with Ease: The dedicated panel on the left provides a clear overview of all your added markers. You can search for specific markers by name or delete them as needed.
• Customize Marker Information: Click on any marker on the map to bring up an editor dialog. Here, you can add a clear and informative label and a detailed description for each marker that will appear in the info window when the user clicks it on the front end.
• Collaboration and Transfer: The map editor includes an Import/Export function. Easily transfer map markers between map modules within your website or multiple sites.

Enhanced Functionality

• ACF Integration: Effortlessly populate map markers directly from your Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Map Field data.
• Marker Limits: Specify the maximum number of markers on your map for optimal display.
• Automatic Bounds Adjustment: The "Fit Bounds" feature automatically centers and zooms the map to ensure all markers are visible.
• Marker Details: Provide informative pop-up windows to display relevant details alongside each map marker.
• Customizable Marker Icons: Personalize the appearance of your map markers with custom icons.
• Import/Export Markers: Streamline your workflow with the ability to import and export map markers for easy management.
• Lazy Load: Boost website performance by ensuring maps only load when they come into view on the page.

Visit Using the Map Widget to learn how to embed Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, or Bing Maps in Joomla.

Video Widget: Captivate Your Audience with Engaging Video

Smile Pack's Video Widget equips you with everything you need to seamlessly integrate captivating video content into your website. Embed videos from popular platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Dailymotion, or showcase your self-hosted videos.

Enhanced Functionality

• Custom Cover Image: Fine-tune the aesthetics by setting a custom cover image or automatically generating one from the video.
• Autoplay: Capture attention from the get-go with the ability to autoplay videos.
• Autopause: Ensure smooth browsing by automatically pausing videos when they scroll out of view.
• Privacy-Enhanced Mode: Prioritize user privacy by utilizing privacy-enhanced video embed options when necessary.
• Looping Videos: Set videos to replay for continuous playback automatically.
• Mute Control: Provide users with the ability to mute or unmute the video's audio.
• Lazy Load: Maintain optimal website performance by ensuring videos only load when they come into view on the page.

Visit Using the Video Widget to learn how to embed a YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Dailymotion, or self-hosted video in Joomla.

Accordion Widget: Present Information with Clarity and Organization

Smile Pack's Accordion Widget offers an exceptional way to organize and present information on your website. This versatile module utilizes vertically collapsing panels, making it ideal for showcasing FAQs, product features, or any content that benefits from a structured and visually clear presentation.

Tailored Design to Match Your Needs

• Density Customization: Strike the perfect balance between spaciousness and compactness by adjusting the density of your accordion element.
• Design Options: Personalize the appearance of your accordion with a range of design controls. Fine-tune colors, font sizes, rounded corners, and gaps to seamlessly integrate with your website's aesthetic.
• Toggle Icon: Include a clear visual indicator next to each panel title using the toggle icon feature.
• Initial State Control: Choose how your accordion panels appear upon initial page load. Opt for all panels collapsed, all panels expanded, or showcase only the first panel expanded for a focused presentation.
• FAQ Structured Data Integration: Generate FAQ structured data markup for your accordion content, potentially enhancing your website's search engine ranking and providing richer search results.

Visit Using the Accordion Widget to learn how to add accordion collapsible panels in Joomla.

Note: All 4 widgets in Smile Pack 1.0 can only be used as a standard module. They will become available as a shortcode in one of the upcoming releases.

Dynamic Text Replacement with Smart Tags

We are introducing a powerful feature that is familiar to Convert Forms and EngageBox users: Smart Tags.

Smart Tags are small pieces of code designed to effortlessly insert relevant information into your content, much like how a programmer uses variables when writing code. The primary purpose of Smart Tag is to facilitate the creation of dynamic and personalized content.

With Smart Tags, you can output data, including the current Date and Time, Visitor's IP, Device or Country, current page URL, Title, presently logged-in user ID, Name or Email, and a myriad of other information without any programming expertise.

Imagine tailoring your landing pages to resonate with each visitor, pre-populating form fields to streamline the conversion process, or automatically displaying an article's author and publication date to establish credibility – all within your reach with Smile Pack's Smart Tags.

Smart Tags can placed almost anywhere you can write text, including Joomla Articles and modules.

Extensive Smart Tag Collection

Smile Pack boasts a comprehensive collection of Smart Tags, catering to a diverse range of personalization needs:

• Date & Time: Display essential details like the current date, time, or year to ensure your content remains up-to-date.
• Page & Article: Retrieve crucial information about the current page, including its title, URL, or referrer, for targeted content delivery.
• Joomla Article Data: Effortlessly output valuable Joomla Article data such as title, author, images, or even custom field values.
• Visitor & User: Personalize the user experience by dynamically displaying information about the logged-in user, including their name, email, or custom field data. Additionally, showcase details like the visitor's device type or browser name to gain insights into visitor behavior.
• Geolocation: Tailor your content based on the visitor's physical location by displaying data like country, city, IP address, or even region.

How Smile Pack Solves Key Challenges

While the Joomla Extensions Directory boasts a vast library of tools, a nagging question lingers: why introduce yet another extension like Smile Pack, especially when functionalities like galleries, maps, and videos seem readily available?

The answer lies in our extensive experience developing features for Joomla products. Over the years, we've identified key pain points that both you and we, as Joomla administrators, have likely faced. Smile Pack tackles these issues head-on, providing a more streamlined and efficient experience.

Here are some of the common challenges we aim to solve with our new product:

1. Frustrating Support Experiences

Many existing Joomla solutions lack reliable and responsive support. Imagine purchasing a fantastic mapping tool only to encounter an unresponsive support team that takes days to answer a simple question. This leaves you stranded with a great product but unanswered queries.

At Tassos, we prioritize exceptional customer service. Our stellar reputation in the Joomla Extensions Directory reflects our commitment to providing top-notch support. We pledge to answer all tickets within 24 hours, regardless of whether you're a free or premium user.

2. Extension Clutter and Update Fatigue

Building content is a core function of most websites. A typical site might require separate extensions for galleries, videos, and maps. Inevitably, these extensions often come from different developers, leading to a convoluted management experience. Imagine needing support or encountering update issues – you'd be juggling communication with multiple developers.

Smile Pack consolidates these functionalities, allowing you to deal with a single developer for all your needs. This streamlines support and simplifies the update process.

3. Performance-Crippling Code

Having been in the Joomla ecosystem for over a decade, we've observed a concerning trend: many extensions suffer from poor code quality and subpar performance. Some extensions resort to loading the entire jQuery library for basic tasks when vanilla JavaScript would suffice. These unnecessary burdens can add significant weight to your website's media assets, slowing page load times.

Smile Pack prioritizes performance from the ground up. We leverage the Joomla API for optimal efficiency. Each widget boasts lightweight CSS and JS files, minimizing page load impact. Furthermore, our widgets are independent of heavy third-party libraries like jQuery, Mootools, or React, ensuring a smooth front-end experience. Additionally, Smile Pack widgets are 100% responsive and mobile-friendly. For optimal speed, we even utilize lazy loading techniques to ensure widgets only load when needed.

What’s Next for Smile Pack

Smile Pack 1.0 lays a solid foundation, but our development journey has only just begun. The roadmap for Smile Pack in 2024 is brimming with exciting new features designed to empower you and elevate your Joomla website to new heights. Here's a sneak peek at what awaits you:

Widget Shortcodes

Imagine incorporating Smile Pack's functionalities seamlessly into any corner of your website. Prepare for Widget Shortcodes, allowing you to render every module as a shortcode. This eliminates the need to create modules beforehand, offering exceptional flexibility in your website design. Every new widget released will be readily available as a standard module and a shortcode, maximizing your creative potential.

Headers & Footers

Managing website code can be a time-consuming endeavor. Smile Pack will introduce Headers & Footers, a feature that allows you to insert essential code snippets like CSS, Meta Tags, and Scripts (including Google Analytics and Facebook Pixels) directly into your website's header, body, or footer. Conditional logic capabilities further enhance control, enabling you to integrate tracking codes for specific pages or sitewide, streamlining your workflow, and ensuring code stays organized.

Reusable Snippets

Say goodbye to repetitive content creation! We plan to introduce Reusable Snippets, a powerful tool that empowers you to create reusable blocks of text, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and even PHP. Maintain consistency across your website by effortlessly integrating these snippets with shortcodes, saving you valuable time and ensuring precision. Conditional logic adds another layer of versatility, allowing for dynamic content display based on specific criteria.

Tabs and Related Articles

Tabs are on the horizon, offering a visually appealing and intuitive way to organize and present information on your website. These fully customizable tabs will simplify navigation for your visitors, fostering a more engaging user experience.

Related Articles Widget will soon join the Smile Pack family, allowing you to effortlessly display curated lists of articles based on category, tag, author, or any other relevant criteria. This fosters a sense of discovery and encourages exploration within your website.

PayPal Buttons

The PayPal Button Widget is coming soon. It will provide a seamless solution for accepting payments, donations, and subscriptions through your Joomla website, empowering you to monetize your content or services easily.

Randomizer

Get ready to surprise and delight your visitors with the Randomizer Module. This innovative feature displays a random module on each visit, injecting a touch of unexpectedness and keeping your audience engaged with ever-changing content.

Celebrate Smile Pack's Launch with a Massive Sale!

We're thrilled to celebrate the launch of Smile Pack with a massive sale! Enjoy a whopping 50% discount on any Smile Pack plan for a limited time. This incredible offer is valid until the end of May, so take advantage of this opportunity to elevate your Joomla website at an unbeatable price!

Ready to unlock Smile Pack's potential? Visit our pricing page now and start building the dynamic and engaging Joomla website you've always envisioned!

Important Information Regarding Bundle Plan Pricing

A slight adjustment to the Bundle Plan pricing will be implemented to ensure we can continue providing exceptional value and ongoing development for Smile Pack and all our products.

Effective May 1st, 2024, the Bundle Plan price will increase to €179 from €159. However, the impact of the price increase for your renewal cost will only be €12 after receiving the 40% renewal discount, roughly the cost of 3 cups of coffee in most places.

We understand this represents a change, and we encourage you to take advantage of the current pricing before the adjustment takes effect. If you've been considering purchasing the Bundle Plan or renewing your existing plan, now is the ideal time to secure it at the current, more affordable rate.

The Bundle Plan offers exceptional value, granting you instant access to all our current extensions, including Smile Pack, and any future extensions we develop.

Get Bundle Plan Now

The Future of Smile Pack: Shaped by You!

Smile Pack's Version 1.0 is just the first chapter in an exciting story. We're dedicated to crafting a product that empowers you and seamlessly integrates into your Joomla workflow. Here's where you come in!

We highly encourage you to try Smile Pack and share your thoughts in the comments below. Which modules did you find most beneficial? Are there features you'd love to see incorporated in future versions? Functionalities that Smile Pack could address may be added to your current Joomla setup.

Your valuable feedback is the cornerstone of Smile Pack's future development. By working together, we can transform Smile Pack into the ultimate Joomla toolkit tailored to your needs. Let's collaborate to make Smile Pack shine! We eagerly await your comments and insights below.